Inner Beast
by FreedomOfNight
Summary: Eighteen year old Lily discovers that the world isn't as normal as she'd thought it was


**Well we've all got to start from somewhere. Though this isn't the first story I've written, it is the first with depth. I have actually formulated several chapters, but I need to elaborate them more, as you can tell with this half-chapter here. I know this sounds so boring and you're probably rolling your eyes going 'yeah, sure' but this story originated from a dream. Actually, two dreams. The first was mid-2009, and you'll read most of it in chapter 2. The second dream happened early 2010, which you will read in chapter... 10? I say that tentatively, once I've got the ball rolling I will update my chapter numbers. The dream was ridiculously short, and only gets four sentences. But those two dreams have let me invent something in between and then from there I can let it grow.**

**I should thank my partner-in-crime, Wirewolf, who has of yet not read this, I should send it on. Also, my dearest friend Lizzy, who has been the big motivation for writing this. I let her read a snippet and now she's addicted, forcing me to come up with more. Anyhoo, I hope you like this, reviews are more than welcome.**

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It was so very dark.

I didn't know where I was, I couldn't remember anything. I didn't even know who I was.

Oh no.

I knew I had a past. Dammit, I had to.

I tried to work out some things that I did know. It was dark, and I was alone. No, that's not right. I'm not alone. I could feel something near me. Not something, some_one_. I could hear quiet breathing. I felt something strange on my head. I raised my hand to touch it, my fingers were touching something dry and gritting. At the pressure, my head thumped. It was a wound. I was hurt. But, the blood was dry, and my hair was stiff with blood.

I was jolted suddenly. I realised that I was in a cart. I was being transported somewhere, by someone. The slight jolting stopped, and I heard very quiet footsteps approach me. Everything went bright, and I was blinded by light. I opened my eyes and looked around.

I was in a cavern. The floors, walls and ceiling were all stone, with a light shining directly above where I was propped up. I groaned groggily and tried to look around.

"So…" a male voice said.

I turned my head slowly in the direction the voice had come from.

A man was standing across the cavern from me, looking at me. I couldn't speak, so I settled for just staring.

He was tall, with longish black hair. His face was formal, superior, a clear show of leadership. His eyes were dark, and he had an olive complexion. European, obviously. He wore a dark suit, and for some reason I likened him to a vampire. Like Dracula was staring at me across the space. As I took this in, he sighed, and moved closer.

"Do you know why you are here?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"Hmm … Well, it's not the first time I have had to explain. You are here because the Master wishes for you to stay with us. Unfortunately, you are not permitted to leave for the time being. But you are now amongst the prime of our kind. The greatest. I hope that you will enjoy yourself here. May I ask your name?"

"Lily," I answered automatically, then froze. Where did that come from? I knew that Lily was my name, it seemed so very right. Everything came flooding back.

I was eighteen years old. I was from Los Angeles. I had been travelling in the north of the country, and had been following a trail through a forest. That was when I had seen a strange creature. It had looked dangerous, but it had not seen me so, curious as I always was, I had followed it. When it entered a cave, I had decided to go back. As I had turned away, the beast had leapt at me. I had hit my head on rocky ground …and then it had gone black. And now I was here.

The man spoke, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"I am Jacques; I am one of the Master's closest confidants. I am here to welcome you to our community. There are many of us, as you will quickly learn. We are not all the same species, which makes for an interesting community. I, myself, am one of the Shifters. If it does not seem too rude, may I ask what you are?" He smiled kindly.

What was he talking about? Maybe I head hit my head too hard and I was hallucinating. I realised that he was waiting for my answer, so I cleared my throat. It hurt a bit.

"I …am not quite sure. When I hit my head, I have forgotten some things. There was an animal…" I trailed off.

Jacques smiled. "That was one of the guards who had come with me. It was I who led you to the cave, but unfortunately the guard got a bit carried away. I am sorry about that. Are you able to walk?"

I nodded, just eager to be moving, and stood. My legs shook for a moment, but then I found that I was able to walk slowly. Jacques smiled again and led me from the cavern.

We walked down a stone corridor, which was lit by an unknown source.

"I must take you to your accommodations first. This is only temporary, just so that the Master can decide if you are valuable to him or not." Jacques told me as we walked.

I gasped. So they would kill me if I was not valuable? I didn't understand anything.

Jacques turned his head slightly to look at me as we continued walking. As if he heard my thoughts, he said, "When I say 'valuable' I just mean if you could join the inner circle. If you are not valuable, you will join the others here, and you will be able to socialise and live happily."

As he finished speaking we reached another empty cavern. This one was quite long, with small rooms at the end. Where we stood was the only way in and out. The rooms were barred at the front, making them cells.

"It does have a prison sort of look, but I assure you that you will be released within the week, and you will be escorted to the community. It is much more hospitable than here. I had to stay here myself, a long time ago. You will be quite comfortable." Jacques led the way to a cell, at the end of the row. The other cells were empty. He smiled warmly and held the barred door open for me. I entered the cell without protest, quite positive that I was dreaming. The cell was small, with stone floors, walls and ceiling. There were no windows. A narrow mattress lay on the floor against one of the walls. The pillow and blanket lying on it looked clean. There was a low stone wall jutting out at the back, and I looked behind it to see a toilet. I glanced back at the door, where Jacques stood smiling.

"I am sorry that it is so bleak. There are no bathing facilities in these rooms, but once you are out you will be able to clean yourself up. I am sorry that you will not be able to hunt, but you will be able to last without. There will be a guard here to keep an eye on you. I shall see you soon, Lily. It will be okay." And with that, he locked the door of my cell, smiled apologetically, and walked out of the cavern.

This was madness. I was being held prisoner in some sort of crazy community. I shook my head and tried to comfort myself. This was some sort of dream, and as soon as I sleep, I can wake up and go back to my normal life. Simple.

Smiling to myself, I lay down on the mattress. It was quite soft, surprisingly.


End file.
